“Positive Teamwork, Positive Results” Files/Nov 2018.pdf · MONOLITHIC COPPER BULLETS produce...

www.wildinstinctsrehab.com 715-362-9453 (362-WILD) 715-490-2727(cell) 4621 Apperson Dr., Rhinelander, WI 54501

Welcome to

INSTINCTS Nov 2018 Vol 7:3

“The newsletter helping you follow your Wild Instincts.”

CHANGING SEASONS As seasons are changing and the end of the calendar year is in sight, the rehab seasons are changing, too. The Busy Baby Season has come to an end. The Fall Interns have migrated back to their homes and other adventures. We’re getting in the injured fall migrants, naïve teens and those wild ones left behind for some reason, generally an injury. It’s time to be looking ahead to our next season: Prepping for Baby Season. We have things to winterize and repair. Ordering to do. End of year reports, lots and lots of reports. Permits and licenses to renew. More reports. Revamping some education programs. Repairs to equipment. Medical articles, new research and journals to catch up on. New fundraising. And maybe catch up on some sleep and neglected projects at home, too. Oh yeah, and we still have patients to care for. A few like a couple bobcats, a fox snake, and a couple turtles will be staying the entire winter until spring weather allows their release.

MEET NOVA Earlier this year we added a new ambassador to our education team. She made her public debut in mid-August. Nova is a Northern Saw-whet Owl. She was admitted as an adult with an injury to her wing which makes it unable for her to be released so she will instead be teaching people about owls and stewardship. Saw-whet owls get their name from their call which is said to sound like a saw being sharpened on a whetting stone.

Saw-whets are among the smallest owl species of North America and very common throughout. Nova weighs about 3 ounces and stands about 6.5” tall.

Nova in her hollow log perch.

MORE AGAIN

As this newsletter is getting ready to be sent to you, our admission numbers are running ahead of last year AGAIN! Last year was a record year for us and now it looks like this year will surpass those numbers. While we love helping all we can, this also comes with a price tag. All our funding comes from memberships and donations. More admissions mean more funding is needed to provide care. As you’ll read elsewhere in this newsletter, our biggest yearly fundraiser has come to an end. We are exploring other options, but until then:


Do you enjoy reading our newsletter? Do you support what we do? Consider giving memberships as gifts this holiday season or make a donation or two in honor of someone.

FALL CHALLENGES

In the fall, one of the challenges of rehab can be simple species identification. Birds are no longer in their breeding plumage, the young of the year may look quite different than their adult stage or juveniles can look a lot like adult females. Often biologists rely on body weight to identify one from another in cases like these as often times one gender is larger than the other. However, all that is done using healthy individuals. If you have a bird that is in bad shape or emaciated, the weight does not help. Sometimes not only identifying which sex within a species is difficult, but determining juvenile birds from different species. For instance, it can be very difficult to distinguish Trumpeter Swan vs Tundra Swan juveniles. They are both gray as juveniles. Tundras turn white by March of their first year, Trumpeters not until the summer of their second year. The experts use bill shape, the width of the V and black near the eyes, the black and pink patterns on the bill, and the color of the legs.

Juvenile Tundra Swan

However, the juvenile Tundra Swan in our care has flagship identification from BOTH species. This is where experience comes in. Knowing it’s a Tundra Swan because you’ve seen enough swans to know it’s a Tundra Swan is one thing. Teaching it to someone who has only seen a couple swans of any species is more difficult. This is also why it is so difficult to learn rehab. Less common species don’t present themselves yearly, or even every other year.

GET THE LEAD OUT!

November in Wisconsin seems like a good time to rerun this blog post from 2016. Yes, we’ve been preaching against lead for many years. In a few days Wisconsin’s Gun Deer Season opens, bringing an estimated 600,000 hunters to the woods. Now is the time they are making their last minute preparations and packing for the trip to the Hunting Camp. The lists are long: food, beverages, long underwear, extra socks, playing cards, etc. The top of everyone’s list should read: LEAD ALTERNATIVE AMMUNITION. Every fall after upland game hunting season starts, but especially after gun deer season begins, Wisconsin wildlife rehabilitators see an increase of bald eagles suffering from lead poisoning. It’s not from eagles being shot, accidentally or otherwise, but rather from lead bullet fragments being ingested from gut piles and unfound carcasses that succumbed to hunters using lead ammunition. We recently said as much on TV and received some heated challenges indicating we made that up. We wish we had because that would be easy to fix, but alas, we did not. A simple Internet search will lead you to many scientific studies on the subject, but we know you are busy getting ready for Saturday, so we’ve brought some of the important findings to you here. Lead is a naturally occurring highly toxic mineral. The earliest known lead mine dates


to 6500 BC. Lead toxicity was known and recorded as early as 2000 BC. Our modern

society has removed it from gasoline and paint. It’s been outlawed from ammunition used for waterfowl since 1991 because of the incidental deaths of over 2 million waterfowl annually by their eating of spent lead shot in sediments while feeding and developing lead poisoning from it. Lead shot and rifle bullets, however, are still widely used for hunting mammals and upland game birds. Lead sinkers and lures are still in use by anglers. These uses expose bald eagles, loons, swans, vultures, ravens and other birds to the hazards of lead poisoning by adding lead to your hunting grounds. Hunting guns today come in a huge variety. They shoot a projectile that expands on impact to help inflict a humane kill. How that projectile expands and what happens to it after it enters the target’s body depends on what it is made from. There have been many studies in recent years to show how far the projectile expands and where the fragments end up. The results may amaze you:

No matter the type of animal or type

of lead-based bullet, lead bullets

fragment when fired into an animal.

The fragment size and number

varies but can number in the 100’s

in just one carcass.

Fragments spray out from the

wound channel a great distance, up

to 18”

MONOLITHIC COPPER BULLETS

produce few, if any, fragments

within carcasses.

Interesting and scary, huh?

Photo courtesy of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Farmland Wildlife Populations and Research Group, 35365 800th Ave, Madelia, MN 56062

This is scary, too. An x-ray of a domestic sheep shot with lead ammo. Bullet fragments are within the red circles and throughout the body cavity and pelvic cavity, even though it was shot behind the shoulder blade.

This 175-grain lead core, lead tip bullet from a 7mm RemMagnum Rifle left 547 fragments (counted). Note the 9-mm carbon fiber tube inserted through the bullet path.

Think about that. Your use of lead creates a firestorm of small lead fragments that significantly increases the chance eagles or other wildlife will scavenge these fragments in the gut pile or carcass you leave behind. It also means more than one animal can be poisoned by a single carcass. Bald eagles are great scavengers. Gut piles and unfound


carcasses are easy buffets. Especially in hunting seasons with no snow to cover them. This is HOW eagles get lead in their systems this time of year. Really. We aren’t making this up and there are many scientific studies out there to prove it.

Eagle admitted to Wild Instincts with lead shot fragments in

its stomach.

In years when there is a lot of snow for hunting season and throughout the winter, we have a delay in admissions. When snow starts to melt and uncover lead-tainted carcasses from hunting season that have been snow covered for the winter, we see another uptick in lead poisoned eagle admissions.

Lead affects a wide range of body functions that affect the bird’s behavior and ability to function and survive normally.

What happens after an eagle accidentally ingests lead fragments from the ammunition you used on your 30 Pointer? The lead fragment(s) are broken down by the stomach acid to form toxic lead salts which are absorbed into the blood stream. Lead interferes with calcium and causes neurological effects –think seizures here. It affects kidney and liver function. It affects growth, feeding behavior, locomotion, balance, depth perception. It affects every aspect of that bird’s life and its ability to survive in the wild. We draw blood on each eagle we admit to test for lead. There are guidelines that divide the results into different levels. Background level (greater than .5 (50 µ/dl)).


Our years of experience, however, have shown us these guidelines are often misleading. We have admitted quite a number of birds that should fit into the Background Level of less than .2ppm (20 µ/dl) that are showing clinical symptoms! Our protocol is now not to release a bird until its blood level is too low to read. Birds that have lead levels supposedly too low to cause death, still have effects on their health and life. There have been reports of birds with low blood lead levels being more susceptible to predations, hunting, collisions with vehicles or powerlines, etc. Birds that have elevated levels of lead in their blood are started on treatment immediately. Chelation binds the lead from soft tissue and bone for excretion. It depletes good minerals along with the lead. The treatment for lead poisoning is grueling on the bird. Lots of supportive care is given and rehabbers invest their hearts and souls into every bird. Still, some make it and many do not. This happens not only in Wisconsin, but across the U.S. Think about all the needless deaths from just ONE lead fragment contaminated animal and multiply it across the U.S. Deer hunting is the most popular type of hunting in the U.S. with over 10 million people participating in 2006. It’s common practice to field dress deer by removing the internal organs to leave a lighter, easier-to-drag-out-to-the-car carcass. The entrails are left in place in a gut pile for wild animals to scavenge. There are also deer that are wounded, but not recovered that die in the woods, again for wild animals to scavenge. Small game hunters number around 7.5 million. The above deer scenario is repeated for these rabbits, squirrels, grouse, etc. By now you shouldn’t be surprised that doesn’t just happen in the U.S., but all over the world. It’s heartbreaking. It’s totally and easily preventable.

Replace your lead ammunition and fishing tackle with non-lead alternatives. Now.

LAST CRUISE

For those of you not aware by now, our annual Wine & Cheese Cruise fundraising event has come to an end. Wisconsin River Cruises, our generous partner, has sold the boat. Patty Zastrow and family have moved to Michigan. They were a huge help to Wild Instincts in hosting a fantastic, well-loved fundraiser. It’s an event that will be missed by all. We wish Patty & Ben and the girls all the best in their new adventures.

The Wilderness Queen has left the Wisconsin River and now

lives in Delavan, WI on Lake Geneva.

Surprising Patty on our Farewell Cruise.


Charter NEX Films Charter NEX Films is North America's leading independent producer of high-performance specialty films used in flexible packaging and other critical performance applications. Four of their seven film production facilities are located in Wisconsin. One is located in Rhinelander. In October, a work crew from the Rhinelander Charter NEX Films facility donated 2 days of volunteer service to help Wild Instincts. Volunteers descended on Wild Instincts to help construct a new enclosure to house small wading birds. It was all hands needed to mix & form the specialty pond, the central feature of this enclosure. They also did some log cutting and clearing. All of it very appreciated.

Digging the pond and making forms for concrete.

Mixing and pouring the concrete.

The finished pond.

The finished enclosure.

But wait, not only did Charter NEX Films provide hard-working, heavy-lifting volunteers, they also provided $4000.00 for another enclosure! What a wonderful company and community member. Thank you for helping us help them.


We have some exciting news! In honor of #GivingTuesday, Facebook is partnering with PayPal to match donations a total of up to $7 million to U.S. nonprofits on Facebook. How can you help? As a Wild Instincts supporter, we need your help. Create a Facebook fundraiser and share it with your friends on #GivingTuesday. Creating a fundraiser is easy and we welcome fundraisers with any goal amount.

In Honor or Memory Of In Memory of Phyllis Benson In Memory of Carol Lee In Memory of Katie Finley In Honor of Dr. Charles Faulkner’s 81st Birthday In Memory of adult male Bald Eagle hit by car on Hwy 51 on Sept 22, 2018 In Memory of Carmines’ & Thornton’s 68th wedding anniversary In Honor of Nathan & Laura DeHart’s 1st wedding anniversary In Memory of Vicki Klar-Loomis In Memory of “Remmy”, a much loved Bernese Mountain Dog In Memory of Lou Norton In Memory of Robert S. DiGiacomo, a giving man and much loved uncle In Honor of Tom & Judy Hooeyman’s 50th wedding anniversary In Memory of Hildegarde Staus

We’re coming into the season traditionally used to reflect on our blessings and give thanks. At Wild Instincts, we don’t have a single season for giving thanks; we have cause to be grateful all year long! Really, our supporters are some of the best on the planet!! Anytime we’ve had a pressing need we ask the community for help with, the response is amazing. This fall we were in the need of some apples for the bear cubs. We asked. You all responded with joy - from across the nation. We got checks from as far away as TX. John F. Kennedy Middle School in Plainfield, IL donated apples from their lunches and teamed up with a local grocer, Peter Rubi to collect and deliver (from IL no less) over 700 lbs of apples!

Go Falcons! Thanks for helping us help them.


Apples delivered from Illinois.

Plus, the cool thing about our supporters is they don’t hesitate to help when we ask, but they will show up even we haven’t asked. For her 10th birthday, Piper collected items for us instead of for herself. Not many 10 year olds would ask for dish soap and toilet

paper Then she brought her siblings along for the delivery.

Piper and her helpers.

With supporters like ours, every day is Thanksgiving! We’d also like to give a shout out to the many local and nearby charities and civic groups that remember Wild Instincts in their

givings. St. Mathias Thrift Store, Flyin Finn, Presque Isle Lioness, Manitowish Waters Lions, St. Germain Prime-timers, Sayner-St. Germain Fish & Wildlife Club, Northern Paws Animal Hospital, WPS Foundation, CT’s Deli, Animal Health Care Center, Sears Hometown Store, The Hodag Store, All Creatures Veterinary, Farmer’s Feed Store, Walmart, Rhinelander Woman’s Club and Russ Davis Wholesale Produce just to name a few! We are so thankful for every one of our supporters, now matter how big or small.

RELEASE SEASON People often comment we must be so sad to see our patients off into the wild. This is not true! This is what we pour our heart, sweat, lack of sleep and soul into making happen! It’s like raising your child to be a successful, independent adult and then sending them off to college or out on their own. Maybe somewhat bittersweet, but never sad. Let’s pull out the photo album and reminisce about some childhoods as they head off on their own.

BEAR

Four-month old bear cub upon admission.


Increasing in age…and in numbers!

Growing like weeds!

Ten-month old paw size comparison.

First Freedom!!


BOBCAT

A litter of bobcat kittens about 2 weeks old at admission.

Getting bigger

Thanks for everything…

…..I’ve got it from here.

FAWN

Not all are “just” orphans. Some have injuries like this fawn

with a fractured leg from being hit by a car.

Same fawn, now healed, on Release Day.

RED FOX

Admission Day


Admission Day

Growing up.

FREEDOM!

Wild Instincts is the only rehab facility in the state licensed to care for every species rehabbable by law. Let’s not leave out birds. Here’s a series of Summer Intern Danna releasing a red-eyed vireo:


Wish List (see our AMAZON WISH LIST for a more

complete listing) Canned Dog Food -any brand (pressing need) Paper towels (more than you can imagine!) Toilet Paper Dish Soap Liquid Hand Soap Unsalted Walnuts/Pecans/Almonds Gas Cards Postage Stamps

Species Admitted 1/1-11/3/2018 Total

American Crow 5

American Goldfinch 4

American Robin 54

American Toad 2

American Woodcock 3

Bald Eagle 31

Barred Owl 11

Belted Kingfisher 4

Big Brown Bat 28

Black Bear 13

Black-capped Chickadee 1

Blue Jay 2

Bobcat 9

Broad-winged Hawk 6

Brown-headed Cowbird 2

Canada Goose 16

Cedar Waxwing 13

Chimney Swift 1

Chipping Sparrow 11

Cliff Swallow 1

Common Grackle 7

Common Loon 3

Common Merganser 1

Common Nighthawk 4

Common Raven 7

Common Redpoll 17

Cooper's Hawk 2

Coyote 1

Deer Mouse 23

Downy Woodpecker 1

Eastern Chipmunk 7

Eastern Cottontail 123

Eastern Garter Snake 2

Eastern Gray Squirrel 70

Eastern Phoebe 2

Eastern Red Bat 1

Eastern Whippoorwill 1

European Starling 13

Flying Squirrel, Southern 15

Fox Snake 3

Gray Catbird 2

Gray Fox 5

Great Blue Heron 2

Great Horned Owl 8

Hairy Woodpecker 2

Herring Gull 1

Hooded Merganser 5

House Sparrow 4

Indigo Bunting 1

Least Flycatcher 3

Little Brown Bat 3

Mallard Duck 9

Meadow Vole 6

Merlin 3

Midland Painted Turtle 2

Mink 9

Mourning Dove 19

Muskrat 2

Nashville Warbler 1

Northern Cardinal 2

Northern Flicker 6

Northern Oriole 1

Northern Saw-Whet Owl 1

Norway Rat 10

Osprey 1

Ovenbird 3

Pied-billed Grebe 1

Pileated Woodpecker 5

https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1BIIKNMLN51TT


Pine Siskin 6

Porcupine 2

Purple Finch 2

Raccoon 35

Red Crossbill 2

Red Fox 8

Red Squirrel 34

Redback Vole 2

Red-breasted Nuthatch 7

Red-eyed Vireo 6

Red-tailed Hawk 8

Red-winged Blackbird 1

Ring-billed Gull 3

River Otter 1

Rock Dove 7

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 6

Rough-legged Hawk 1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 17

Ruffed Grouse 4

Sandhill Crane 6

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1

Short-tailed Weasel 3

Snapping Turtle 13

Snowy Owl 2

Song Sparrow 1

Sora Rail 1

Striped Skunk 1

Swainson's Thrush 2

Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel 3

Tree Swallow 1

Trumpeter Swan 2

Tundra Swan 1

Turkey Vulture 1

Unknown 1

Virginia Opossum 1

Western Painted Turtle 18

White-breasted Nuthatch 3

White-tailed Deer 28

White-throated Sparrow 2

Wild Turkey 9

Wood Duck 3

Wood Frog 1

Woodchuck 1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2

Total 896

UPCOMING EVENTS Rescue & Transport Driver Training Thursday March 7, 2018 6:30-8:00 p.m. At Wild Instincts Registration required by March 4, 2018 Rescue & Transport Driver Training Saturday March 9, 2018 10:00-11:30 a.m. At Wild Instincts Registration required by March 4, 2018

*NOTE: These are identical trainings, just offered at two different times to give people a scheduling option. You only attend one session.

Newly released explores his new wild home.

“Positive Teamwork, Positive Results” Files/Nov 2018.pdf · MONOLITHIC COPPER BULLETS produce...

Documents

Transcript of “Positive Teamwork, Positive Results” Files/Nov 2018.pdf · MONOLITHIC COPPER BULLETS produce...